Washing machines are well known for cleaning laundry such as but not limited to clothing, towels, sheets, and the like. The washing machines have at least three cycles which are described below.
For the was. cycle, the machine is filled to a certain water level, and chemicals such as cleaning solutions, powders, etc. are dispensed into the basket filled with the laundry load, and the load is agitated for a certain amount of time, followed by draining the water.
Washing machines typically use a built in fixed vertically oriented agitator generally with vanes to mix laundry detergent during a wash. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,018 to Platt and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,460 to Oh.
For the rinse cycle, the machine is filled to a certain water level, the load is again agitated for a certain amount of time and water is drained.
The third cycle can be a spin cycle, where the basket is rapidly rotated for a certain amount of time with the drain open so most remaining water is removed by the centrifugal force.
Off the shelf products for use with washing machines have centered upon cleaning solutions and powders and fabric softeners and the like, which release some chemical into the laundry load.
Over the years various types of separate insert devices have been proposed, such as balls, ovals, and cylindrical disc shapes, which have chemicals inside that are released.
See for example, U.S. Des. Pat. No. 326,937 to Miyahara; U.S. Des. Pat. No. 406,679 to DePalma; U.S. Des. Pat. No. D583,519 to Roberts; U.S. Des. Pat. No. D604,466 to Gaa et al.; U.S. Des. Pat. No. D646,448 to Cheng; and U.S. Des. Pat. No. D746,007 to Oh. Also, see U.S. Published Patent Applications: 2010/0281928 to Martin and 2015/0299933 to Oh.
The inventor is not aware of any non-chemical release and non-ball and non-oval and non-cylindrical disc shaped reusable devices that can be placed in the basket to enhance either or both the wash and rinse cycles.
Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art.